Bradley n



(No Model.)

B.-N. PHELPS.

I DRAW BAR AND BOOK. v No. 403,133.. I Patented May 14, 1889.

UNITE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

' BRADLEY N. PHELPS, on NEW YORK, N. Y.

DRAW-BAR AND HOOK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 403,133, dated May 14, 1889.

Application filed February 25, 1889. Serial No. 301,040- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BRADLEY N. PHELPS, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, county of New York, and State of New York, have invented certain'new and useful Improvements in Draw-Bars and Hooks, fully described and represented in the following specification and the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same.

This invention relates to improvements in draw-bars or hooks for use on street-cars and for other similar purposes. I

The invention relates particularly, however, to a means for preventing the shock and noise occasioned by the recoil of the bar as the strain upon it is reducedas, for example, immediately after the starting of a heavily-loaded car-and also to certain features in the 0011- struction of the hook proper, by which the liability of the whiffletree or evener becoming disconnected from the hook in case a side draft is put upon the hook is entirely removed.

It has heretofore been customary to connect the hook or draw-bar of a street-car to the frame or platform of the car by means of a yielding connection which allowed the bar to yield slightly when heavy draft was put upon it-as, for example, when starting a heavilyloaded carso as to not only prevent the car from starting suddenly, so asto jostle the passengers, but also in a measure protect the shoulders of the draft-animals from the injury which would result if the connection was rigid. WVhere the draw-bar or hook is made capable of yielding in this manner, when subjected to heavy draft, it of course recoils correspondingly as soon as the draft becomes lighter-as, for example, as soon as the car is fairly started-and it is therefore desirable to provide a buffer which is so arranged as to cushion the recoil of the bar, and thus prevent the force of the recoil from being delivered suddenly against the car,which would occasion adisagreeable noise, and also occasion some damage. Various forms of buffers intended to effect this result have been heretofore pro posed, none of which have proved entirely satisfactory in practice.

One feature of the present invention relates particularly to an arrangement of buffer for effecting this result.

Another feature of the invention relates, as before stated, to the particular shape of the hook proper designed to prevent the whiffletree or evener from being disconnected there from by reason of side draft.

In order to convey a full understanding of the invention, it will now be described in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a carplatform, showing the same provided with a draw-bar or hook constructed according to the present invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged front end view of the hook. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 4 is a cross-section taken 011 the line 4 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 5 is a similar view taken on the line 5 of Figs. 2 and 3.

Referring to said figures, it is to be' understood that A represents one platform of an ordinary street-car, and B the dash of the same. The draw-bar D extends beneath the platformfin substantially the usual position, and is provided at its front end with a hook, cl, of suitable form to receive the usual link, connected to the whiffietree in case of a single horse and to the evener in case of two horses.

The bar D is arranged to move freely 10ngitudinally in a guide or casing,'a, located beneath the platform and securelybolted thereto, the bar being rectangular in cross-section and of considerable width, as indicated in Fig. 3, so as to be prevented from turning in the casing. through the casing, and is provided with a spring, I), which surrounds the bar and is interposed between the end of the casing and the nut or head upon the end of the bar.

The spring I) will preferably be of the spiral form shown in the drawings; but it may be of other forms, and in some cases may be composed of rubber. The spring I) is of such strength that when the car is in motion and only a moderate amount of draft is being exerted upon the bar D the spring will not be materially compressed. When, however, an excessive draft is exerted upon-the bar, the spring 6 will be compressed, thereby allowing the bar to move in the casing a to a greater or less extent, depending upon the draft put upon the bar, and thus prevent the draft from The rear end of the bar extends being transmitted suddenly to the car, so as to start it with an abrupt shock, which, as before explained, is disagreeable to passengers and injurious to the draft-animals. As soon, however, as the car has been fairly started, the draft required to keep it in motion is greatly reduced, and as a consequence the spring 11 at once expands, moving the bar inward to its normal position. In order to prevent the force of this recoil of the bar from causing noise and jar, I provide a buffer, 0, which is so arranged as to receive the shock of this recoil and prevent noise and disagreeable jarring. For this purpose the forward end of the bar is so constructed as to provide a shoulder, f, preferably located upon the upper side of the bar, between which and the dash the buffer 0 is interposed, so that as the bar recoils by the force of the spring I) the buffer will be brought against the dash, thereby arresting the bar without noise or jar.

The bulfer 0 will preferably be of rubber, as indicated in the present case, although it may consist of a metal spring or of rubber backed with a metal spring. The buffer will preferably be provided with a shank, g, which enters a recess formed in the shoulder f, and thus holds the buffer in position. The buffer 0 and spring I) will be so proportioned that when the parts are in their normal position the butter will bear against the dash, as shown, thereby preventing the bar and the spring from rattling when no draft is applied to the bar-as, for example, when the car is moving on a downgrade.

The hook d, when viewed in side elevation, as in Fig. 1, is of substantially the ordinary shape, it being of suitable shape to receive the link h, as indicated by dotted lines, 0011- nected to the whifiletree or evener.

It will readily be seen that so long as the draft is directly in the line of the bar D, or substantially in the line of the bar, there is no danger of the link h becoming detached from the hook. It sometimes happens, however, that it becomes necessary, particularly in crowded streets, to turn the horse or horses to one side, and in such case the draft, instead of being in line with the bar D, will be substantially at right angles to the bar, as indicated by the position of the link shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, and as the hook is always located so low that there is a slight upward draft when the link takes the position indicated in Fig. 2 there is danger that it will be drawn off the hook, thus unhitching the team from the car and causing trouble, and perhaps danger. In order to avoid this difiiculty and danger, I make the hook of substantially the form shown-that is to say, the sides of the hook are provided with lateral projections 3, which swell outward just above the point occupied by the link when it is in its normal position.

By reference to Fig. 2 it will be readily seen that if the sides of the hook were straight or substantially straight the link It would, when drawn at right angles to the bar D, tend to move upward on the hook, and thus be detached therefrom; but it will also be seen that by providing the swell projections 3 this tend ency is entirely obviated, because the link when drawn upon at right angles to the bar D is retained in its proper position upon the hook by means of the swell 3, which is directly above it, and this will be the case in whichever direction the link is turned.

What I claim is- 1. The combination, with the draw-bar D, movable in the guide-casing a,'of the spring I), located upon the inner end of the bar and arranged to receive the draft exerted upon the bar, and the elastic buffer 0, located between a shoulder, f, formed upon the outer end of the bar and the dash, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with the draw-bar D, movable in the guide-casing a, of the spring I), located at the inner end of the bar and arranged to receive the draft put upon the bar, and the elastic buifer c, seated in a recess formed within a shoulder upon the outer end of the bar and acting against the dash, substantially as described.

3. The herein-described hook of a draw-bar, having the side projections, 3, for preventing the link from being drawn off the hook by lateral draft, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the vpresence of two subscribing witnesses.

BRADLEY N. PHELPS. WVitnesses:

J. J. KENNEDY, G. M. Bonsr. 

